Left-handers are better than Right-handers?

Mahatma Gandhi was left-handed. And so are Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly.

Historically, the left side, and subsequently left-handedness, was considered negative in many cultures. The Latin word sinistra originally meant “left” but took on meanings of “evil” or “unlucky”. The word sinister has its roots in sinistra .

Left-handedness ( sinistrality, sinistromanuality, or mancinism) is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. A variety of studies suggest that 10% of the world population is left-handed.

However, things have changed a lot in modern times. Left-handers are no more a taboo. Chris McManus of University College London argues that the proportion of left-handers is increasing and left-handed people as a group have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers. He says that left-handers’ brains are structured differently in a way that increases their range of abilities, and the genes that determine left-handedness also govern development of the language centres of the brain.

Now, there are Left-Handers Associations and people are not associating any evil with left-handedness. In fact, August 13 is celebrated as the Left-Handers Day.